Dalís Car were a musical group formed in 1984 by Peter Murphy (vocalist), Mick Karn (bassist, keyboardist, guitarist, saxophonist) and Paul Vincent Lawford (drum machines).
History
One year after Bauhaus broke up, Peter Murphy, after taking a hiatus from his music career, wished again to record. However, Murphy at the time did not have significant skill as an instrumentalist and with Bauhaus he typically wrote lyrics after the other band members wrote the music: "As a solo artist I had to learn to make records without this machine I had been part of. I had no skill. No idea what I should do. I was suddenly a solo person writing from where? From what perspective? So I was looking to find what I had to offer." Murphy was in need of a collaborator at the time. Around the same time, the bass player Mick Karn, from the art pop band Japan who had split up in 1982, was struggling with his solo career. Despite his musical ability, recorded demos and session work, Karn was struggling to get a record deal since he was mainly interested in making instrumental music rather than pop songs. In order to secure a record deal, he needed to convince a record company that his work had commercial prospects. Karn was looking for a frontman. Despite the popular belief, this was apocryphal. Instead, the name came from a dream from Murphy's friend, where he dreamed of buying a car belonging to Salvador Dalí.
The Waking Hour
The sleeve of The Waking Hour features a detail from Maxfield Parrish's seminal painting Daybreak. The recording of the album took place in unusual circumstances; Karn and Murphy did not spend much time together in the recording studio, preferring to send tapes back and forth between each other, to work on alone. One single was released, "The Judgement Is the Mirror" (UK No. 66). Much of the video for the single was recorded on location in Malta.
Reunion and subsequent releases
In August 2010, Peter Murphy announced on Twitter that he and Karn were planning to head into the studio in September to begin work on the second Dalís Car album. As Murphy explained that year:<blockquote>I hadn't seen him for ages and then I heard he was seriously ill in June of last year. I was sat here wondering what I could do for him because we'd made a whole album together, so we got back in contact with each other via email and I asked him whether he was well enough to work, and if so, why don't we make another Dalis Car album? I'll raise the funds and organise it all, you just get writing, and he was so happy.</blockquote>The project was cut short, however, for Karn had recently been diagnosed with cancer; he died on 4 January 2011. The tracks they did record—including a re-working of "Artemis" from The Waking Hour with newly added vocals, guitar, and drums, and renamed "Artemis Rise"—were released on 5 April 2012 as an EP titled InGladAloneness. The tracks were mixed by Steve Jansen, mastered by Pieter Snapper in Istanbul, and the artwork for the EP was created by Murphy with Thomas Bak with a painting by Jarosław Kukowski. The Japanese version of the EP contains a memorial photo booklet with photos by Steve Jansen along with comments from fellow artists who have collaborated with Karn.
Artemis Rise was made available as a download through the Burning Shed MK Music store on Sunday 24 July 2011, to commemorate what would have been Karn's 53rd birthday. The song is an updated version of the song as it appeared on The Waking Hour, with added vocals by Murphy, drums by Jansen, and guitar by Jakszyk.
Discography
Studio albums
- The Waking Hour (1984) – UK No. 84
Singles
- "The Judgement Is the Mirror" (1984) – UK No. 66